DIMS gets another shake-up

More change is coming for financial advisers who operate personalised DIMS for their clients.

Monday, December 3rd 2018, 6:00AM

In 2014, the discretionary investment management services sector was disrupted by the arrival of the Financial Markets Conduct Act (FMCA), which required that all providers of DIMS be licensed to offer a class service or authorised under the Financial Advisers Act (FAA) to carry on offering personalised DIMS.

Only half-a-dozen AFAs transferred to the new personalised DIMS regime.

Now the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Bill, which revokes the FAA, means their arrangement cannot continue.

Once FSLAB is passed into law, they will be allowed to carry on as they are only for another two years.

After that point, personalised DIMS will count as a market service under the FMCA and providers will need a market licence.

David Ireland, of Kensington Swan, said personalised DIMS would no longer be possible from individual advisers as a financial adviser service. At some point they would have to stop or be prepared to jump into a market service license.

One adviser with personalised DIMS authorisation is Christchurch-based Alistair Bean.

He said he intended to carry on offering the service to clients as long as was possible.

“Whatever I have to do to make that happen, that’s what I’ll do.”

He said he had deliberately kept his client numbers low to meet the demands of personalised DIMS.

“I can afford to [apply for a DIMS license] at the moment and I imagine in two years’ time I will be in the same or a better position.”

He said personalised DIMS was the only way advisers could put their clients’ needs first.

“It’s hard to keep up with all the constantly changing legislation as one-man band.”